Wild And Woolly LNAH

I listened to an interesting piece on CBC radio while driving home from work yesterday, about Ligue Nord-Americaine De Hockey (LNAH), a Quebec semi-pro league featuring teams from Trois-Rivieres, Sorel, Thetford Mines, Jonquiere, Riviere-Du-Loup, Saint-Georges, and new this season, Cornwall, from across the border in Ontario.

It’s similar in some ways to serious senior hockey, where players have day jobs and make their way to games after a hard day’s work. LNAHers are paid in the neighborhood of $300 a game, and fans at the rink can enjoy four dollar beer, two buck french fries, and 3.2 fights a game.

Aside from the fights, the calibre of hockey seems high. The league is packed with ex-juniors, ex-pros from various leagues around the continent, and even some old Habs like Stephane Richer, who toiled for Sorel during the 2004-05 season, Marc-Andre Bergeron with Trois-Rivieres in 2004-05, and Donald Brashear, who continues to dish out knuckle sandwiches with Rivieres-Du-Loup.

Maybe it’s just me, but I say Brashear should just put his skates in the closet and move on to something else. He’d probably make a fine nightclub doorman or mafia enforcer. A video of his most-recent thuggery can be seen in the video below.

Here’s the LNAH standings as of today, January 16.

Équipe

PJ

V

D

DP

DF

PTS

JONQUIÈRE

23

16

6

0

1

33

THETFORD MINES

22

14

5

3

0

31

CORNWALL

23

14

7

0

2

30

RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP

20

11

5

2

2

26

SOREL-TRACY

23

8

10

4

1

21

SAINT-GEORGES

25

10

13

0

2

21

TROIS-RIVIÈRES

24

7

15

1

1

16

And here’s Brashear doing what he does best, being a goon. This is his shot on Jonquiere’s Gaby Roch that now has Donald suspended. (video via Raph 2117)

From the CP wires, Jan. 11, 2013.

MONTREAL – Former NHL tough guy Donald Brashear was suspended six games by the minor-pro Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey on Monday for a nasty attack from behind during a game last week.

Video of the incident showed Brashear punching opponent Gaby Roch in the back of the head from behind, touching off a bench-clearing brawl between his Riviere-du-Loup 3L and the visiting Jonquiere Marquis.

The league, which translates as North American Hockey League but is not related to a circuit of that name based in the United States, is known for highlighting fights.

Brashear, 41, joined the league after his NHL career ended in 2010.

He had 85 goals in 1,025 career games for Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Washington and the New York Rangers. His 2,634 penalty minutes ranks 15th all-time.

I can’t agree more, Tom. I know many fans buy tickets to see fights, but the goonery isn’t cool. It’s like Slap Shot, it seems. Brashear should hang ’em up. You’re absolutely right – these guys have normal jobs, which is more important than a few years in this league.